GAZA CITY: Hamas’s armed wing confirmed on Monday the death of its spokesperson, Abu Obeida, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades released a video statement on its Telegram channel, saying: “We pause in reverence before... the masked man loved by millions... the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.”
Israel previously announced it had killed Abu Obeida in a strike on Gaza on August 30.
During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir Al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Gazans, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas’s military wing, particularly those related to prisoner-exchange operations.
Born on February 11, 1985, and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
He later became the group’s sole spokesman, delivering video statements in military uniform with his face consistently concealed by a red keffiyeh.
He had been the target of multiple Israeli assassination attempts.
According to Hamas officials, Abu Obeida embodied what they describe as “resistance” and was known for fiery and impactful speeches, many of which included threats against Israel or announcements of military operations.
“For many years, only a very small circle of Hamas officials knew his true identity,” a Hamas official told AFP.
Israel has decimated Hamas’s leadership, saying it seeks to eradicate the group following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war.
The video announcing Abu Obeida’s death was delivered by a masked man dressed in the former spokesperson’s distinctive style, who said he would adopt his predecessor’s name for future statements.
In the same video, he also announced the deaths of four other Hamas commanders in Israeli attacks during the war.
Hamas armed wing confirms spokesman killed by Israel in August
https://arab.news/22d3e
Hamas armed wing confirms spokesman killed by Israel in August
- Israel previously announced it had killed Abu Obeida in a strike on Gaza on August 30
- During the war, Abu Obeida emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Gazans for official statements from Hamas’s military wing
Israeli settlers burn tents, vehicles in West Bank village
- Videos show masked men rampaging into the Palestinian village of Susiya near Hebron and burning vehicles and property
- Similar attacks have become common as settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank
SUSIYA, West Bank: Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and tents in the Palestinian village of Susiya on Tuesday night, residents said, in the latest incident of settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.
“They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere,” Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with reports of “deliberate burnings of Palestinian property” and had opened an investigation into the incident.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.
Attacks where masked settlers arrive at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack residents have become common, as Israeli settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.
An Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a “fringe minority,” although Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.
The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.
Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At the end of 2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2 percent resulted in indictments. Israel’s far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to “bury” a Palestinian state.
Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.
Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.
